Daniel: There’s been a verse on my mind lately. I read it about a week ago. I’m sure you’ve read it, as I’ve read it a million times, but not in its entirety or in context.

Jesus is talking to the disciples in John 16. They’d just had the passover feast. Judas just left to go gather his mob to arrest Jesus; Peter was just told he would deny Jesus, and Jesus sends nothing but encouragement to his disciples. 

In the past few chapters, Jesus spoke plainly; he tells about what’s about to happen. Jesus will be handed over to die; people will hate the disciples because they knew Jesus; but that’s not going to last. 

Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:31-33

This verse has really hung with me because, despite everything that was about to happen, what has happened, and what will ever happen, He has overcome the world. We have no need to fear, nothing to worry about, nothing this earth can do to us that he hasn’t overcome already. This isn’t just the era, the place, the country- no, this is the entire world! 

No matter what happens today, tomorrow, what happened yesterday, whatever could happen, take heart, for He has overcome the world.

Joe: I spent most of Friday at a campus workshop talking about resilience and self-regulation skills. The goal was and is to help us emotionally navigate the challenges of the upcoming school year.

Now, Scripture does not use the more modern phrase “self-regulation,” but it has a lot to say about the biblical equivalent: learning to bring our bodies, emotions, thoughts, desires, and actions under the influence of the Holy Spirit and the truth of God. The three categories we discussed were physical, emotional, and cognitive self-control.

Self-control in Scripture is not simply trying harder to control yourself; it is learning to surrender yourself to God so that His Spirit shapes how you think, feel, and act.

Physical self-regulation is bringing the body under wise control

Scripture recognizes that our physical appetites and impulses can influence our spiritual lives.

  • 1 Corinthians 9:25–27 — Paul describes disciplining his body and bringing it under control. The image is an athlete who practices restraint in pursuit of a greater goal.
  • 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 — Our bodies belong to God and are temples of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, physical choices matter spiritually.
  • Galatians 5:22–23 — Self-control is listed as a fruit of the Spirit.
  • Proverbs 25:28 — “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” Self-control provides protection and boundaries.
  • 1 Timothy 4:8 — Physical training has value, while godliness has value for all things.

The Word compels us NOT to be controlled by every physical appetite or impulse. Our bodies are gifts from God to be stewarded rather than masters to be obeyed.

Name something you wouldn’t want to have a view of from your house. 

  1. ??? (39) 
  2. ??? (17) 
  3. ??? (10) 
  4. ??? (5) 
  5. ???(4) 
  6. ??? (4) 

It’s a Stumper for this week. Next week, you’ll have a chance to win TWO $5 gift cards to Watt’s Restaurant in Utica.

Thanks for Listening – Daniel